Listen and Learn: First Tracks and First Impressions
The author of Scream / Queen (Acre Books, 2025) encourages writers to consider how music albums are introduced as they craft the beginning of poetry collections.
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Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Ten Questions for Robert P. Baird
“[Y]ou should write, or at the very least revise, with a reader always in mind.” —Robert P. Baird, author of The Nimbus
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Foreign Objects 2: Seams and Borders
Writer and translator Elizabeth T. Gray considers the craft of integrating foreign objects into poetry.
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Ten Questions for Lucas Schaefer
“A book takes a long time to write, and a long time to publish. So, you know, take a breath!” —Lucas Schaefer, author of The Slip
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Foreign Objects 1: What’s This Doing Here?
Writer and translator Elizabeth T. Gray explores the history and function of foreign objects in poetry.
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Ten Questions for Nicola Dinan
“But so much of the work is done in those gaps, when the book sits in the back of your mind with your subconscious untangling it.” —Nicola Dinan, author of Disappoint Me
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Ten Questions for July Westhale
“And while it is an expansive, strange book, it manages to feel contained and possible. I think that’s in part because it was written from a place of confinement.” —July Westhale, author of moon moon
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Conveying Music and Dance in Fiction: Final Touches to Your Manuscript
The author of Duet for One (Regal House Publishing, May 2025) recommends rigorous revision strategies as writers polish their manuscripts.
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Theater of Memories: A Conversation With Ocean Vuong
With The Emperor of Gladness, forthcoming in May from Penguin Press, Ocean Vuong crafts a story of intergenerational connection—of labor, love, memory, and care—while bridging the intimate and the epic, the lyric and the narrative.
Ten Questions for Rickey Fayne
“Everything will take longer than you feel like it should, and this is a gift.” —Rickey Fayne, author of The Devil Three Times
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Conveying Music and Dance in Fiction: Getting It on the Page
The author of Duet for One (Regal House Publishing, May 2025) recommends writers research vocabularies specific to their characters’ lives to ensure the novel’s world feels believable.
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Ten Questions for Lisa Fishman
“The magnitude of space around me must have opened a kind of interior spaciousness where the writing came from.” —Lisa Fishman, author of One Big Time
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Conveying Music and Dance in Fiction: Forgetting the Outline
The author of Duet for One (Regal House Publishing, May 2025) recommends writers discover their structure as they write.
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Poetry Is Always in Season: A Conversation With the Anonymous Curator Behind @poetryisnotaluxury
The person behind the viral Instagram account @poetryisnotaluxury talks about their approach to selecting poetry for a digital platform versus a print anthology, the value of anonymity, and more.
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Ten Questions for Craig Thompson
“Stories that are planned are boring and flat and unlike life, which is messy and has its own logic.” —Craig Thompson, author of Ginseng Roots
Ten Questions for Marie-Helene Bertino
“Intuition is enough.” —Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Exit Zero
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On Trauma and the Book-Length Project
Jehanne Dubrow encourages writers to provide varied points of entry into books on trauma to give readers breathing room and keep them engaged.
Who’s In and Who’s Out: Crafting Poetry Submission Packets
Curating and sequencing your poems with intention can positively affect the outcome of your submission. Contest organizers and judges offer four guiding points as you assemble your poetry packet.
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Drafting an Artist Statement: Honoring Who You Are and Why You Write
When your work is being judged with all identifying information removed, an artist statement enables you to share who you are as a writer, your motivation, and your influences—creating a map from your now to a dreamed-of future.
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The LGBTQ+ Literary Resistance
In the hostile climate of the current U.S. administration, queer authors persevere through writing and community building, continuing a culture of resistance and defiance that is radically, emphatically, grounded in joy and love.
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Excerpt Expertise: How to Submit Part of a Longer Work to a Contest
Writing contests that accept excerpts as short-form prose can help you keep up the momentum during the long journey to book publication. Contest winners and other experts share what it takes to create an attention-grabbing excerpt.
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Inside the Contest: Behind the Scenes at Six Great Contests to Enter This Summer
This summer’s notable opportunities celebrate new talent, amplify marginalized voices, and push boundaries. Our editors take you behind the scenes to see how these contests are run, who they serve, and why they do what they do.
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Threads, Thrumming: A Profile of Kevin Wilson
In his fifth novel, Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson returns to a theme that flows through much of his work: the threads that connect us to other people, even if we’ve never met them before.
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Hopeless Hope: A Conversation With Madeleine Thien
In The Book of Records, Madeleine Thien takes on political, historical, and philosophical issues in the wake of catastrophe while offering a portrait of a life that holds hope amid seemingly hopeless circumstances.
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Double Dreaming, Double Imagining: A Profile of Douglas Kearney
In the poetry collection I Imagine I Been Science Fiction Always, Douglas Kearney shatters traditional expectations by transforming images and texts into dynamic conversations about Black identity, personhood, and art.
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